Then Caddell launched into one of his rants about everyone being irresponsible, which is just absurd cant, and when Caddell resorted to the old trick of demanding the right to talk in ever louder volume, I kept saying no. Bullies on panels are like bullies everywhere –give them an inch and they will rant for an hour. Caddell’s schtick is old and tired but the crisis is real and immediate. The president and his Democratic allies have been radically irresponsible. Speaker Boehner is trying to lead but without any other serious leader in play save perhaps Mitch McConnell and Jon Kyl. When Caddell or anyone lumps in Kyl with Harry Reid, or Jim Jordan and Rand Paul with Bernie Sanders, and John Campbell with Barney Frank and Chuck Rangell, a gentleman rises to the defense of his friends. Caddell objected to be interrupted in his slander, and raged even to the point of grabbing my arm, an amusing breach of cable decorum…

Such is the atmosphere around the issue because the issue of the vast federal spending is genuinely that important. A repeat of the panic of 2008 would take a weak recovery and turn it into a deep recession as consumer confidence crumbles. Representatives should rally behind the plan that signals a plan to move away from the cliff the president has forced us to. That’s the Boehner plan.